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Shivani Chivukula

@shivanichivukula.bsky.social
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Shivani Chivukula @shivanichivukula.bsky.social · 29/05/2025
Some welcome urgency from government on getting water infrastructure built as quickly as possible - which is crucial in the context of an increasing demand shortfall, as I explored in a blog for @instituteforgovernment.org.uk last month www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/inde...
instituteforgovernment.org.uk
The Independent Water Commission has a chance to create meaningful change | Institute for Government
Labour set out clear ambitions for infrastructure before the election including on housing and energy. But plans for the water sector were less clear.
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Institute for Government @instituteforgovernment.org.uk · 28/05/2025
Thames Water has been fined its biggest penalty so far by the water industry regulator Ofwat But what is Ofwat and how does it function? Read our full explainer: www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/of...
instituteforgovernment.org.uk
Ofwat | Institute for Government
Ofwat is the economic regulator for the water and sewage sectors in England and Wales. But how does it work?
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Matthew Gill @drmatthewgill.bsky.social · 10/04/2025
Monday's announcement puts government at risk of cutting quango numbers for its own sake. But efficiency, accountability, and freeing up ministers to focus on the big picture are what really matter, and there are better ways to achieve these things. My latest for @instituteforgov.bsky.social:
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Teodor Grama @teodorgrama.bsky.social · 04/04/2025
The passage of Labour's Tobacco and Vapes bill has been plain sailing so far. But history shows the success of anti-smoking policy hinges on cross-party (& public) buy-in, which the govt must not take for granted - certainly not now. My latest for @instituteforgov.bsky.social 👇
instituteforgovernment.org.uk
Smokefree generation: How to turn manifesto promises into tangible results | Institute for Government
What the government can learn from past anti-smoking legislation for its 'smokefree generation' commitment.
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Shivani Chivukula @shivanichivukula.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
In a big day for government reviews at the IfG - a new blog from me about Sir Jon Cunliffe's Independent Water Commission. I explore why was it set up, what it is doing, and what this all has to do with 'terrible Tuesday'... www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/inde...
instituteforgovernment.org.uk
The Independent Water Commission has a chance to create meaningful change | Institute for Government
Labour set out clear ambitions for infrastructure before the election, including on housing and energy. But plans for the water sector were less clear
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Ben Paxton @drbenpaxton.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
NEW REPORT from @jillongovt.bsky.social and I on how government should set up and run independent policy reviews to help deliver reforms. We looked back at previous reviews, and spoke to former reviewers to get their reflections and advice (1/12) www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...
instituteforgovernment.org.uk
Lessons from past independent policy reviews | Institute for Government
How, when and why are policy reviews used by politicians?
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Institute for Government @instituteforgovernment.org.uk · 01/04/2025
Interested in making government more effective? Applications for our 2025–26 research internship programme, starting in September 2025, are now open. Closing date: Tuesday 29 April, 11:00 ⏰ Find out more: www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/about-us/car...
A job advert for research internships 2025-26 at the IfG.

Six one-year, full-time internships starting in September 2025.

Salary: £30,000

Deadline: Tuesday 2 April, 11:00
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Millie Mitchell @milliemitchell.bsky.social · 26/03/2025
Planning reform given big emphasis in Rachel Reeves' statement today, including key measures from last week's Planning and Infrastructure Bill. For a breakdown of 5 major changes, check out this recent blog from @sophiemetcalfe.bsky.social and me www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/five...
instituteforgovernment.org.uk
Five key changes set out in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill | Institute for Government
What is the potential impact of the government's planning bill?
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Matthew Gill @drmatthewgill.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
Some more detailed thoughts on the regulatory action plan published last week...
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Matthew Gill @drmatthewgill.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
1/ Today’s policy paper from HMT on regulation and growth is welcome: www.gov.uk/government/n.... In the main, it grips the need to prioritise growth in an energetic but proportionate way. Nonetheless, implementation of some proposals will be difficult and there are some pitfalls to avoid.
gov.uk
Radical action plan to cut red tape and kickstart growth
The Chancellor will meet top regulator bosses in Downing Street today (Monday 17 March) as she unveils an action plan to deliver on the pledge to cut the administrative cost of regulation on business ...
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Rebecca McKee @rebeccamckee.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
📣New report from me & @brionya.bsky.social MCAs’ decision-making is often limited by unanimous voting rules Effective decision making for key strategic plans requires a shift to simple majority voting alongside greater capacity and accountability www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...
instituteforgovernment.org.uk
How the government can support better decision making in mayoral combined authorities | Institute for Government
Making England’s ‘devolution revolution’ a reality.
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Shivani Chivukula @shivanichivukula.bsky.social · 13/03/2025
In light of today's announcement - this chart gives some context on how NHS England accounts for almost half of government's total spending on ALBs, and how increases to its budget have been the main driver for the overall increase in funding for ALBs in recent years.
Line chart from the Institute for Government of government funding of arm's-length bodies by category, 2013/23-2022/23 (in 2024/25 prices), where funding of NDPBs has increased over the time period but funding of executive agencies and non-ministerial departments has stayed almost flat.
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Sam Macrory @sammacrory.bsky.social · 13/03/2025
Reports by @drmatthewgill.bsky.social - our @instituteforgov.bsky.social expert on all things public bodies - are must reads right now… 👇
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Matthew Gill @drmatthewgill.bsky.social · 13/03/2025
Can AI transform civil service productivity? How would you cut the administrative costs of regulation by 25%? And what would that mean for arachnids in Ebbsfleet? Join us to discuss these - and other themes from Keir Starmer's speech - at lunchtime today!
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Tim Durrant @timdurrant.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
While we all speculate about what exactly the PM will say tomorrow and what the balance between ministers, depts and public bodies should be over policy decisions, I thought I'd have a look through the @instituteforgov.bsky.social's interviews with former ministers to see what they have to say...
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Shivani Chivukula @shivanichivukula.bsky.social · 12/02/2025
The National Wealth Fund is a key part of the govt's plans to address chronic underinvestment in the UK and stimulate growth. But what is it, and how does it work? An explainer: www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/na...
instituteforgovernment.org.uk
What is the National Wealth Fund? | Institute for Government
The chancellor's new Fund replaces the UK Infrastructure Bank.
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Shivani Chivukula @shivanichivukula.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
Following a great IfG event yesterday on the government's clean power targets, a new explainer by me on the role of the National Energy System Operator (NESO)⚡ www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/na...
instituteforgovernment.org.uk
National Energy System Operator (NESO) | Institute for Government
NESO is the public body responsible for Great Britain’s energy system.
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Shivani Chivukula @shivanichivukula.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
It still remains to be seen whether the data from govt's Applicant Tracking System will make a difference. Interesting that the Commissioner points to Downing St input as a cause of delays - more granular data pinpointing at what stage of processes delays are happening would be welcome.
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Shivani Chivukula @shivanichivukula.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
As I pointed out in Whitehall Monitor 2025, these sorts of delays undermine the governance of ALBs and can deter potential applicants, potentially leading to less diverse and high-calibre boards.
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Shivani Chivukula @shivanichivukula.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
The Commissioner for Public Appointment's report for 2023-24 has now been published. It's a shame to see that delays to appointment processes got even worse, with only 13% concluding within the recommended timeframe of 3 months. publicappointmentscommissioner.independent.gov.uk/wp-content/u...
publicappointmentscommissioner.independent.gov.uk
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Shivani Chivukula @shivanichivukula.bsky.social · 17/01/2025
Read Whitehall Monitor 2025 in full here! www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...
instituteforgovernment.org.uk
Whitehall Monitor 2025 | Institute for Government
The civil service needs to change to deliver Labour's missions.
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Shivani Chivukula @shivanichivukula.bsky.social · 17/01/2025
The current public body review programme will conclude in March. While it covered a greater proportion of bodies in scope of review than the previous iteration, its overall impact is unclear. It will be interesting to see what conclusions PACAC will draw on this in their inquiry on public bodies.
Bar chart from the Institute for Government showing public body reviews conducted, 2010-25
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Shivani Chivukula @shivanichivukula.bsky.social · 17/01/2025
The former category grew slightly more slowly than the overall CS in 2012/13–2022/23. The latter increased dramatically by 43.7%, again largely due to the reclassification of Network Rail.
A line chart from the Institute for Government of arm's-length body staff numbers by category, 2012/13–2022/23, where staff numbers of NDPBs, executive agencies, and non-ministerial departments rose over time.
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Shivani Chivukula @shivanichivukula.bsky.social · 17/01/2025
The ALB workforce is split into those classified as civil servants (around 62% in 2022/23) and those who are public servants.
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Shivani Chivukula @shivanichivukula.bsky.social · 17/01/2025
On balance, and the recent inclusion of Network Rail aside, ALB budgets remained fairly flat in real terms between 2012/13–2022/23. The exception was - unsurprisingly - NHS England.
Line chart from the Institute for Government of government funding of arm's-length bodies by category, 2013/23-2022/23 (in 2024/25 prices), where funding of NDPBs has increased over the time period but funding of executive agencies and non-ministerial departments has stayed almost flat.
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Shivani Chivukula @shivanichivukula.bsky.social · 17/01/2025
There's less focus on cutting numbers of ALBs since 2017, and indeed the Lab govt. has announced a number of ambitious new bodies (like GB Energy) to contribute to its missions. Full list here: www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/pu...
Stacked bar chart from the Institute for Government showing the number of arm's-length bodies, 2012/13-2023/24, where the total number of ALBs fell dramatically between 2012/13 and 2016/17, and has increased very slightly since then.
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Shivani Chivukula @shivanichivukula.bsky.social · 17/01/2025
NB: ALBs are a subsection of public bodies, consisting of non-ministerial depts. (like HMRC), executive non-departmental public bodies (e.g. NHS England) and executive agencies (e.g. DVLA).
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Shivani Chivukula @shivanichivukula.bsky.social · 17/01/2025
It's important to understand the ALB landscape because, as I note in this chapter, over half of government's spending was channeled through them in 2022/23.
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Shivani Chivukula @shivanichivukula.bsky.social · 17/01/2025
More Whitehall Monitor findings! For the first time since 2022 we put together a chapter on arm's-length bodies for WM2025 (published yesterday) - thanks to the Cabinet Office's publication of the 2023 public bodies dataset at the end of last year.
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Shivani Chivukula @shivanichivukula.bsky.social · 16/01/2025
Finally - worth saying that we wrote this before publication of the new AI opportunities action plan this week. Good to see that addresses some issues we raised - incl. helping the public sector safely experiment with AI, providing better guidance for scaling up pilots & increasing pay for talent.
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Shivani Chivukula @shivanichivukula.bsky.social · 16/01/2025
The whole CS workforce could be significantly affected by use of AI in the future, and the recruitment of technologists and good training for officials is crucial to capture its opportunities.
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Shivani Chivukula @shivanichivukula.bsky.social · 16/01/2025
Civil servants should be given the license and resources to continue experimenting, but barriers to scaling up pilots across govt. need to be addressed (which the recent action plan was positive on).
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Shivani Chivukula @shivanichivukula.bsky.social · 16/01/2025
While the true extent of AI experimentation is unclear, there are some really interesting pilots coming out of Whitehall, including GCS Assist, Redbox, and Lex.
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Shivani Chivukula @shivanichivukula.bsky.social · 16/01/2025
(I'm also pleased with this table we put together. It's simple but I found it very helpful to bring this information together in one place, and hope it's a useful reference for others. Worth noting a new addition to this was announced this week: UK Sovereign AI.)
A table from the Institute for Government showing organisations responsible for cross-government AI functions, January 2025, and their remits
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Shivani Chivukula @shivanichivukula.bsky.social · 16/01/2025
Part of the solution is for the department to have invested political leadership - which Peter Kyle is showing - but its role on AI also needs to be embedded into Whitehall's processes & supported by No.10/Cabinet Office.
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Shivani Chivukula @shivanichivukula.bsky.social · 16/01/2025
However, some are sceptical that DSIT, as a newer department outside of the centre of govt, will have enough cross-Whitehall heft to really drive the agenda.
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Shivani Chivukula @shivanichivukula.bsky.social · 16/01/2025
On the whole it is a logical move which gives one part of government the ability to lead all AI related activities, ranging from adoption to ethics.
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Shivani Chivukula @shivanichivukula.bsky.social · 16/01/2025
Last year DSIT became the 'digital centre of government' with the integration of GDS, CDDO and i.AI and the launch of the AI opportunities work.
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Shivani Chivukula @shivanichivukula.bsky.social · 16/01/2025
Some key takeaways from our chapter on AI, digital and data in Whitehall Monitor 2025 [🧵]:
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Teodor Grama @teodorgrama.bsky.social · 16/01/2025
The latest edition of our annual Whitehall Monitor report is out today. How has the civil service changed in the last year? And how does it still need to change to deliver on the government’s missions? Quick 🧵 on some of our findings on churn and diversity 1/8
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Joe Hill @jo3hill.bsky.social · 16/01/2025
The long, albeit slow, increase in workforce and budgets of Arms Length Bodies underpins a democratic deficit. If Ministers will ultimately be held accountable, they should take more responsibility for managing core functions of government directly.
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Philip Nye @philipnye.bsky.social · 16/01/2025
On staffing more widely, we have data on arm’s-length body staff numbers for the first time in several years This chart from @shivanichivukula.bsky.social shows what the drivers behind increasing ALB staff numbers are
A line chart from the Institute for Government of arm's-length body staff numbers by category, 2012/13–2022/23, where staff numbers of NDPBs, executive agencies, and non-ministerial departments rose over time.
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Shivani Chivukula @shivanichivukula.bsky.social · 16/01/2025
It was great to contribute to the final two chapters of the report: one on the ALB landscape, and one on AI, digital and data in the civil service. The latter in particular was a very new area of research for this ex-classicist and I had fun writing it with my colleague @jordanurban.bsky.social
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Institute for Government @instituteforgovernment.org.uk · 17/12/2024
Government 2025: IfG's annual conference 📅 Tuesday 21 January To kick off the new year, we will bring together influential speakers and experts to explore the key questions for government in 2025. Register to attend online www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/govern...
An image to promote the IfG's annual conference: Government 2025.

Tuesday 21 January, 08:45-18:00
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Shivani Chivukula @shivanichivukula.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
Look out for Whitehall Monitor 2025 early next year, in which I discuss further how these figures fit into wider ALB trends over the years!
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Shivani Chivukula @shivanichivukula.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
Over 90% of ALB funding was allocated to 10 bodies in this year (and mostly to grant and subsidy issuing bodies such as NHS England and ESFA). Over a third of ALBs don't receive any direct government funding.
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Shivani Chivukula @shivanichivukula.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
I thought that this was the key chart: it shows how focus on the number of bodies can obscure more nuanced understanding of how staff and funding are distributed across them.
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Shivani Chivukula @shivanichivukula.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
Yesterday the Cabinet Office public bodies team published their 2022/23 ALB report. It's a really interesting and well-visualised piece of work. Check it out here: co-public-bodies.github.io/ALB_Landscap...
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Hannah White @drhannahwhite.bsky.social · 21/11/2024
New report from @drmatthewgill.bsky.social on how to set up public bodies well www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
Labour’s new public bodies are likely to come at a high cost, thinktank finds
At least 17 state agencies to be created or overhauled, a challenge the IfG says will require major investment
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